


Guiding Light

by sewuwu



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: 2Parkss2018, 2park, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Magical Journals, The Rest Of Wanna One Are In This But They Are Not Named, Wiccan - Freeform, Witch AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 10:39:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17021109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sewuwu/pseuds/sewuwu
Summary: Jihoon is fascinated by three things: his town's magical history, a mysterious journal, and a boy that could change his world.





	Guiding Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [byunderella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/byunderella/gifts).



> hi!!! this is my 2parkss gift! i had such a huge idea in mind but life happened and i ended up making a bitesize version of what i originally planned, and it might be a little rushed in places, but i did my best with the time i had and i hope it's enjoyable nonetheless! 
> 
> thank you soooo much to the 2parkss admins for creating this, it has been a really amazing experience and ive really enjoyed it! love u wannables <3

“5000 words. Two weeks. Any aspect of local history that interests you.” The professor’s booming voice read aloud as he tapped down the bullet points written on the faded chalkboard. “Please discuss your ideas with the groups that you are sat in.”

 

Jihoon was sat in AP History; Mr Soh’s class. His professor was keen on two things: the “good old days”, which explained the crumbling board at the front of their classroom and the distinct lack of laptops on the desks; and group discussion, which meant that the class had to sit on grouped tables and discuss every single aspect of their lessons together. Sure, Mr Soh’s teaching methods made a nice change from their other monotonous lessons, and Jihoon had to admit that he was relieved to have a break from the click-clacking of Macbook keyboards that bombarded him in other classes, but it had been almost six months since Jihoon took AP History, and group discussions did not get any easier for him. He hated talking. Well, he didn’t hate talking as such – he did speak to people – but he _hated_ speaking in a group. He didn’t feel like he could articulate his points well enough to do them justice, and everyone would laugh at him for being a bumbling fool. Even if he did feel confident in what he wanted to say, he felt like the ground was going to swallow him whole every time he opened his mouth. So, as the group turned to one another to discuss their final projects, Jihoon did what he always did, and listened intently to everyone’s ideas with an encouraging smile on his face.

 

But Jihoon’s group discussion dilemma wasn’t isolated to Mr Soh’s history class. Despite being on the quieter side, Jihoon had landed himself in with the popular kids at his school within his first week. The group included ten other guys, all of varying ages, years at their school, and personalities, but they somehow made it work. Jihoon still didn’t really understand why he had been invited into their circle, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. The idea of engaging in conversation with all ten of them turned out to be less of an issue than Jihoon had first anticipated because the guys actually allowed him to be his quiet self and never pushed him too much. They really had become a safe space in what could have been a very overwhelming environment for him.

 

As the class discussions fizzled out with students losing interest in each other’s project ideas, Mr Soh allowed them to leave a few more minutes before the school bell rang. That was another quirk to Mr Soh’s lessons – he didn’t care for structured class timings. Jihoon was slower than his classmates to pack his things away, purposefully taking his time to reorganise his bag and place his textbooks in as carefully as he could. As he eyed the last of the other students leaving the room, he tucked in his chair and made his way over to his professor’s desk at the front of the classroom.

 

He coughed a little to get Mr Soh’s attention. “Sir?” His ears tinted red as he made eye contact with his professor. “I… I was just wondering if I could discuss my project idea with you...?”

 

His professor offered him a kind smile, he had grown to Jihoon’s introverted ways in the past six months. “Of course, Jihoon. Please take a seat.” As he sat down on the leather seat placed on the other side of the desk, Mr Soh continued. “What are your thoughts on the project?”

 

Jihoon placed a notebook that he had kept out of his rucksack on the desk between them and opened it to the page marked with a sticky note. “I’m interested in the Wiccan history in the town. My great-grandmother used to tell me all about it, and the Wiccan beliefs fascinate me.” He looked up to his professor for acknowledgement of his idea and his heart almost sang when he could see him nodding along with a look of interest. “More specifically, I’d like to focus my project on the sudden decline of Wiccan culture in our town in recent years. From what I’ve found so far, there haven’t been any official witch hunts as there have been in other countries, so why has the practice of witchcraft died out? I’d like to work it out. Maybe. If I can. I don’t know…” Jihoon always tended to mumble and backtrack on his ideas like this, he couldn’t help it. He also couldn’t help the blush that was threatening to take over his entire face.

 

“This sounds really fascinating, Jihoon. You’ll definitely be able to do this project well.”

 

No matter how many times his AP History professor supported his ideas, Jihoon almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Mr Soh believed that Jihoon could pull this project off? He was over the moon. “Th-thank you, Professor Soh.” He paused for a second. “Do you have any recommendations on where I could find some research?”

 

His teacher paused, before opening his laptop and typing something into his browser’s search engine. “This library,” he pointed at a destination on the map on the screen, “will be the best place to start. Lots of old archives and first account views stored there. You may even be able to sweet talk the old ladies who run it into letting you have a look at the restricted files.” He said this with a slight smirk because they both knew that Jihoon would not be talking, let alone _sweet talking,_ to strangers.

 

Jihoon just shook his head and smiled bashfully as he stood up, his rucksack and notebook clutched in his small hands. “Thanks, sir. I’ll head to that library right now and get started.” He waved a small wave to his professor as he walked out of the classroom, zipped up his jacket and braced himself for the cold winter breeze that was waiting for him on the other side of the main door.

 

***

 

Jihoon ran his fingers along the aging, cracked spines of the giant tomes on the dusty shelves in front of him. He had never been to this section of the library before and he wouldn’t have known about it if wasn’t for his professor. The old ladies at the library proved to be very helpful and knew exactly where he needed to get the books for his project.  The section was tucked away in the very back of the library and nobody else seemed to be in the section with him. It was perfect. As he browsed the shelves, he thought it would probably be best to start with the basics, so he selected the book entitled ‘Wiccan Theory 101’. The contents told him that the book would provide knowledge on the general magic that witches could do and where it originated from. He had never come across a witch himself, so he was unsure of the extent of their powers.

 

He carried the large tome to the table in the middle of this hidden section, and set up his laptop and his notebook so he could take notes on anything that could prove useful for his project. After reading the first few introductory chapters, Jihoon felt like he was getting nowhere. He had never experienced this before, being the A-grade student that he was, and it was starting to stress him out. As he flicked the pages back to the beginning of the book to reread the sections he did not quite understand, he heard someone step onto the old floorboards behind him, making them creak. He whipped his head around to see who the intruder was, and was shocked to see a familiar face smiling at him.

 

Park Woojin, the one same-aged friend in Jihoon’s friend group, but one of the few friends that he had never spoken to one-on-one before. His anxious thoughts told him that someone as cool as Woojin wouldn’t find Jihoon very interesting, so he saved himself from the embarrassment of being ignored or dismissed and kept his distance.

 

But Woojin seemed to be closing that distance, very quickly, as he walked across the dark floorboards and towards Jihoon’s table. He slammed his bag behind Jihoon’s laptop and winced at the way the bang echoed around the quiet library.

 

“Didn’t expect to see you here,” he stage-whispered with a sheepish smile on his face.

 

Jihoon couldn’t help but smile at Woojin’s foolishness. Woojin was a bit of a class clown when he was comfortable with the people around him, and despite himself, Jihoon’s face flushed slightly at the idea of Woojin being comfortable with him.

 

“I- I’m working…” Jihoon gestured to his laptop, notebook and the pile of books to his right. “Class project for Mr Soh.”

 

Woojin’s eyes lit up at Jihoon’s words, and he sat down eagerly, trying to get a look at Jihoon’s notes. “What did you choose?”

 

Jihoon was shocked at Woojin’s enthusiasm for his history project. As bad as it sounded, Jihoon didn’t think the other boy was into academics, as he spent most of his time at football practice. He was the star player for their school’s football team. Their friend group tried to get Jihoon to go to the games throughout the years, but he always had too much school work, or was busy looking after his younger brother whilst his parents did night-shifts. Plus, sports was definitely not his thing.

 

“I’m err…” he trailed off, now realising how Woojin be freaked out by his project focus. Nobody really spoke about witches anymore. “It’s kind of generic. Just… y’know.”

 

Woojin frowned at Jihoon avoidance and looked towards the pile of books instead, clearly looking for an answer. His eyes widened as they trailed the spines of each book. “Witches, huh? It’s been a minute since I’ve heard anyone speak about them.”

 

Jihoon flushed and scratched the back of his neck. “My great-grandmother told me about them when I was little… I guess I’ve always been interested…” He trailed off again as he stood up and walked away from the table, towards the shelves behind him. “I’m just going to… grab… yeah…”

 

Jihoon didn’t give Woojin the chance to respond and busied himself with the dusty literature that had nothing to do with his project. He hated that he felt so overwhelmed whilst talking to his _friend_ , he hated that he couldn’t handle a conversation with anyone, he hated that his emotions had this control over him. He didn’t know how to tackle it and it made him feel hopeless. He wouldn’t be able to get by with his academics alone for much longer.

 

As he trailed his finger along the shelves to try and keep himself grounded, he heard Woojin sigh to himself and leave the section of the library he was in. Jihoon hadn’t even asked Woojin why he was in the library, and he’d just lost the opportunity to do so. He was an awful friend. After taking a few breaths to steady himself, he slowly made his way back to the table and started to pack up his things. When his emotions overwhelmed him, he couldn’t focus on studying, otherwise his brain would be overloaded. He had learned that the hard way a few years ago. As he sorted through the library books that he was going to take home with him, he noticed a book on the other side of the table that must have fallen off of the pile. As he picked up the book, his brows furrowed at the blank cover and spine. He flicked through the book and blank pages stared back at him. It wasn’t a textbook. It was a notebook.

 

“I don’t remember bringing a second notebook…” he muttered to himself as he pushed the mysterious book in his bag. He shrugged his backpack onto his shoulders and waved to the librarians as he passed them, before making his way through the snow to the nearest subway station.

 

***

 

After struggling to feed his younger brother some boxed macaroni cheese that was left out on the kitchen counter for Jihoon to use, Jihoon took a portion of the pasta upstairs and sat in front of his laptop. He finally felt ready to deal with Wiccan texts and had reassembled his library set up on his bedroom desk. As he moved his rucksack from the edge of the desk onto the floor, he heard a muffled thud on the carpet next to him. Slightly concerned, Jihoon pushed his bowl aside and bent down to investigate the sound. He searched around the carpet for the source of the noise, finally finding it under his bed. It was the notebook from earlier. He had forgotten all about it. Humming happily to himself as he propped the notebook open in front of him, Jihoon decided to brainstorm his project whilst he ate his dinner. He decided that a mind-map would be the best choice and started it by writing the phrase _Wiccan Religion_ in the middle of the page. He tapped the pen on the book as he ate, thinking carefully about the topics that he wanted to explore.

 

He didn’t notice the words forming on the page until it was too late.

 

_What do you want to know?_

He choked on his pasta and fumbled for his water bottle at the end of his desk, staring at the words on the page. Did he write that? Did he forget? The notebook and now this… was he suffering from memory loss?

 

After staring at the page for as long as he could stand, he picked up his pen, and hesitatingly wrote underneath the words on the page, not knowing what he was expecting to happen but knowing that he had nothing to lose.

 

_Why has Wiccan culture disappeared from our town?_

Jihoon stared at the page for a few minutes, but the space underneath his question remained blank. He sighed in relief as he rolled his eyes at himself. What was he thinking? Did he think somebody would reply to him? All of this witch talk had made his imagination run wild. As he went to pick up his fork to continue his dinner, his hand froze. He was watching words appear on the page from the corner of his eye. Without anyone using a pen. And the words were replying to him.

 

_That’s… a… difficult… question… to… answer._

There was a pause on the page.

 

_This… might… take… a… few… pages,… please… bear… with… me._

Jihoon couldn’t believe what he had just seen. He couldn’t understand it. This had to be magic, right? There was no other explanation. Did that mean a witch was talking to him? Or did the journal have a mind of his own?  He was living in a real life ‘Chamber of Secrets’ moment. He laughed in disbelief as the writing continued to form on the page, it was giving him detailed explanations of everything he needed to know for his project and it was more than he could ever have asked for. After the writing finally came to a stop six pages later, Jihoon felt inclined to respond to the mysterious notebook.

 

_Thank you for all of this. I do have one more question._

_Ask... away._

_Who are you? Are you a witch?_

There was no answer for several moments and Jihoon panicked, thinking that he had scared whoever it was from answering him.

 

_I’m… the… answer… to… your… asks._

Jihoon smiled slightly at this answer before writing a response. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he would get along with this being.

 

_Very mysterious. Thank you again, I truly wouldn’t have been able to start this project without this._

_You’re… welcome… Please... write… in… here… when… you… have… any… other… questions._

_Or… if… you… just… want… to… talk… Being… an… omniscient… journal… can… be… lonely… work._

 

Jihoon couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of him as he read the last line in the journal. He wasn’t sure whether he would take the journal up on that last offer, but it was nice that it had been offered to him anyway.

 

As he threw himself into his project reading, constantly referring back to the notes that the ‘omniscient journal’ had provided, he really felt like he was getting somewhere and it felt great. _This_ is what he loved about academics, he loved when he understood things so well that he could come to his own conclusions and could show you exactly how he came to that conclusion. He loved being validated by school grades. He loved all of it. He was so focused on his work that he almost didn’t notice his text ringtone go off. _Almost_.

 

Who was texting him? Nobody texted him unless it was the group chat trying to organise trips to the school’s football games. He slid his desk chair over to his bed and grabbed his phone, blinking slightly at the bright phone screen before reading the text preview on the lock-screen.

 

**Park Woojin: hey! how is the project going? :)**

Jihoon blushed at the message as he thought about how he ran away from Woojin at the library, and how _weird_ that must have been for Woojin. And despite what Jihoon did, he still texted Jihoon to ask him about the project? He really was a good guy.

 

Jihoon tapped a quick response back to him and threw the phone back onto the bed. He rolled around to the desk again and his eyes landed on the mysterious journal. Writing in that journal wouldn’t be so different to texting someone. It wouldn’t be that unusual, right?

 

***

 

Jihoon had spent that entire weekend staring at the journal, trying to build up the courage to write in it again. He wanted to have a conversation with whoever the witch was, but he just didn’t know what to say. Should he keep it strictly academic so they wouldn’t think he was strange? Should he ask them how their day was going? He just didn’t know where to go with this.

 

It was 8pm on Sunday night when he finally talked himself into picking up his pen. He kept telling himself that he wouldn’t regret it.

 

_What are your opinions on witches in works of fiction?_

He regretted it the moment he finished writing the question mark. He couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to see the reply to his stupid question, _if_ there was an answer. He pushed the journal under his duvet and went to the bathroom to freshen up before he closed himself off from the rest of the world for the night. When he sat down on the bed five minutes later, he wavered as he went to grab the journal but was shocked to see a reply on the page waiting for him.

 

_That depends on who we are talking about. I have my favourites._

 

The smile formed on Jihoon’s face before he could stop it.

 

_This is interesting. Let’s start with the basics: Sabrina the Teenage Witch._

_She’s… got… style… I… wouldn’t… necessarily… say… she’s… a… good… witch… but… I… love… her… cat._

Jihoon suppressed a giggle, before writing another question out.

 

_Do you have a cat?_

_That’s… a… stereotype… that… I… wish… was… true… I… do… have… a… dog… but… he… hardly… compares… to… the… sassy… Salem… Do… you… have… any… pets?_

Jihoon continued to scribble in the journal late into the night, and was shocked when he finally looked at the clock and was faced with the fact he had stayed up until 4am. He had to be at school in 4 hours, and there was no way his fluttering heart would let him sleep straight away. He supposed that so heavy eye bags were the consequence of pursuing friendship.

 

***

 

That next morning, getting up and being attentive at school was proving difficult for Jihoon. Although there were moments when he could barely keep his eyes open, he thought that he was doing a good job at hiding just how tired he was. At least, that’s what he thought until he was subjected to an almost-intervention during lunch by his group of friends.

 

Sungwoon, one of the older boys of the group, stared at Jihoon for a while as the others chatted away to one another. He had a look of what seemed to be a mix of concentration and concern on his face as he looked towards Jihoon. After five minutes of scrutinising, Jihoon finally opened his mouth to ask Sungwoon if he had something on his face, when the older boy interrupted him.

 

“Jihoon, you seem tired. Is everything going alright with your classes?”

 

The sincerity in Sungwoon’s voice caught Jihoon off-guard. He nodded his head slightly as a soft blush dusted his cheek.

 

Minhyun, another one of the older members and one of Jihoon’s favourites of the group, turned his head to the side as he contemplated Jihoon’s appearance as well.

 

“That’s it!” his soft smile beamed, “I thought there was something different about you today. Are you sure everything is okay?”

 

Jihoon looked Minhyun in the eye and nodded again, more determined this time. “I-I’m fine, guys. I was just up late doing a project.”

 

Sungwoon frowned at that. “That’s weird. You never stay up late.”

 

Sungwoon’s boyfriend and self-proclaimed puppy of the group, Daniel nudged Jihoon’s shoulder with his own and laughed slightly. “Be careful with that Jihoonie, you don’t want to end up like Woojin. He’s always up too late at night.”

 

The boy in question smiled a coy smile and punched Daniel in the arm. “Leave me out of this.” He redirected his attention Jihoon and smiled sympathetically. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he was cut off by the school bell. Woojin rolled his eyes dramatically and Jihoon giggled before he could stop himself. Woojin looked at him in surprise for a second before training his face back to his usual grin.

 

As Jihoon got up to leave the cafeteria to go to his next class, he heard Woojin scramble up from the table and jog after him. Jihoon felt Woojin nudge him slightly as they squeezed through the doorway, making him blush at the close proximity.

 

“He is right though,” Woojin continued through the busy hallways, “you shouldn’t let that project take over your life.” He leaned against the lockers next to Jihoon’s as Jihoon grabbed textbooks from his own locker.

 

Jihoon sighed quietly as he shoved his leftover lunch into the metal closet. “It’s not that easy.”

 

Despite Jihoon meaning to mumble that to himself, Woojin heard it clearly and shook his head. “Sure it is!” He followed behind Jihoon as he kept talking. “We could make it an educational hang out if that made you feel better about leaving your project for a couple of hours?”

 

Jihoon stopped in his tracks and eyed Woojin wearily over his shoulder. “We?” He did his best to stifle the laughter threatening to erupt from him as he watched Woojin’s face turn into a horrified expression as he realised what he said.

 

Woojin’s ears burned red as he stumbled on his words. “I mean- yeah- I didn’t mean to assume- I just thought- It’s okay if you don’t want to- I- I’m sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

 

Jihoon wore a sympathetic smile on his face. As mean as it might have sounded, it was nice watching someone else have difficulty with their words for a change. “I’ve got to get to class.” He started to walk towards the science building but stopped and looked backwards at Woojin. “I’ll let you know.”

 

After his encounter with Woojin, Jihoon spent the entirety of his chemistry lesson thinking about what Woojin _wanted_ from Jihoon. Did he think that being nice would get him some help on his homework? A copy of his English notes? A piano lesson? Jihoon couldn’t decide. But what he did decide was that despite his worries, he had nothing to lose in having a day out with a friend.

 

He texted Woojin as soon as he was out of his class.

 

**What educated fun did you have in mind?**

*******

Woojin’s educated hang-out turned out to be an evening at the town’s museum. They had organised to meet outside the main entrance two days after Jihoon’s initial text and the two days flew by. Jihoon wasn’t sure how the evening was going to go, but his heart fluttered slightly as he saw Woojin’s flushed-from-the-cold cheeks peaking out of his scarf and hat ensemble, so he knew that he would probably be an awkward mess regardless of what happened inside. Not wanting to waste anymore time in the freezing cold, they greeted each other as they made their way into the museum. Jihoon had not set foot in the town’s museum hall since he was 9 years old, and the memories of that last trip washed over him as he stepped into the main auditorium. The building’s decor hadn’t changed in the last 9 years, but Jihoon was completely surprised by the huge Wiccan history display that took over the majority of the museum. He was in awe at the sheer size of it.

 

He whipped his head around to Woojin. “Did you know that this was here?”

 

Woojin smirked and bumped his shoulder with Jihoon’s as he walked past him. “Someone might have done their research.” Jihoon couldn’t help but grin at his friend. Nobody had ever done something so nice for him and it made his heart hurt. As Jihoon jogged to catch up with Woojin, he continued to ask his questions.

 

“A-are you sure you want to look around? Won’t this be boring for you?”

 

“Of course I’m sure! I’m just here to make sure you give yourself a break.” He paused and bumped his shoulder against Jihoon’s again. “Consider me your guardian angel of breaks.”

 

Jihoon laughed loudly at this and slapped Woojin’s shoulder. He tried to muffle his laughs as a few people around them looked at Jihoon with disapproving eyes, and Woojin laughed at his struggles. Jihoon hit him again and walked off, desperately trying to calm his beating heart. He didn’t realise that the long-term but _very_ low-key crush that Jihoon had on Woojin would make him feel that way, and he didn’t realise just how much he would enjoy being in Woojin’s company. He felt comfortable, which was a strange feeling for someone who felt anxious and out of place 99% of the time.

 

Jihoon repressed these feelings and tried to focus his attention on the exhibitions in front of him. He loved looking at the different objects behind the display glass as closely as he could, taking in as much detail as he could before moving onto the next display. Woojin was very patient and stood at the display for as long as Jihoon wanted to, never complaining or going on without him. Jihoon’s heart swooned a little at that.

 

After travelling through a few rooms in comfortable silence, Woojin coughed a little to get Jihoon’s attention. “How is the project going?”

 

“Oh! It’s- it’s going well, I think. I’ve got some help on it, and they’ve really saved the entire thing.”

 

“Some help? From who?” Woojin snickered. “Don’t tell me you actually found a witch…”

 

Jihoon flushed and shook his head. “No! No, it’s just, err…” He hated that he was lying to Woojin. He didn’t want to, but he didn’t know how to explain the truth. “This old guy at the library. He saw me reading all of those old books. He knew quite a bit of stuff on the topic so he’s helped explain some stuff to me.”

 

“That’s really lucky, dude. I wish I could find a wise old man who knew what Professor Kim was talking about in AP Chemistry…”

 

Jihoon laughed nervously and carried on walking. He needed to change the topic before he slipped up. He pointed at a random painting at the end of the room. “Do you know what that’s about?”

 

Woojin flicked his eyes towards the painting and nodded. “That’s a portrait of the witches’ council. The meetings were held in the old church hall – the one near our school. Do you know it?”

 

“Yeah… yeah. I do…” Jihoon’s surprise was obvious in his voice. “D-didn’t have you down as a fan of witchcraft.”

 

Woojin flushed. “My great-grandmother told me about this stuff… just like yours. I guess it’s a great-grandmother thing?” He smirked again. “I think the councils were pretty important for the magic system in our town, y’know. Maybe your old man friend can tell you more about it.”

 

Jihoon perked up at that. He didn’t realise that he was itching to ask the journal about all of the artefacts and paintings he had seen until Woojin brought it up. He really did want to get home, and he felt guilty that he would be leaving Woojin, but he just needed to know more. For the project. It was all for the project.

 

As they rounded the corner of a display, Jihoon spoke up. “Uh… I just remembered that I need to get home soon. I have to look after my brother.”

 

Woojin’s shoulders slumped slightly. “So soon?” He shook his head. “I mean, that’s completely fine! You can’t help it.”

 

Jihoon nodded slowly as he turned. “Sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s been really nice though! Thank you for bringing me here.”

 

“No problem, bro. Let me know when you want to hang out again.”

 

“Yeah… yeah. I will!”

 

Jihoon couldn’t shake the guilt from his mind as he walked out of the museum. Jihoon didn’t deserve Woojin. Woojin deserved better. And yet he didn’t want Woojin to hang out with anyone else, and he wasn’t sure what to do about that.

 

***

_What do you know about the witches’ council meetings?_

Jihoon stared at the journal with eager eyes, and grinned widely as writing started to appear on the pages in front of him. He would never get used to excitement that rushed through him as the handwriting formed, and he didn’t think it would ever lose its charm.

 

He sat with the journal in his lap for hours that night, learning all about the politics of the witch community, which he planned to form into a sub-topic for his history project. Jihoon didn’t want to make his late nights a habit, but it was hard to stop talking to the person on the other end of this journal. He loved the focus that his project was taking, and he hoped Professor Soh would feel the same way – he couldn’t imagine that the lecturer would be opposed to a good political tangent. It also helped that the presence in the journal was witty, understood Jihoon’s type of humour, and was incredibly knowledgeable in a topic that Jihoon happened to be passionate about. It was hard for Jihoon to ignore the connection that they had, despite it all transpiring on the pages of a journal. Jihoon was so invested in their conversations that he had been worried that their discussions would be cut short by the limited amount of pages, but this was not a problem, as the pages seemed to clean themselves of all previous conversations the moment Jihoon closed the journal. Those witches knew exactly what they were doing with their magical items.

 

After an especially long session with the journal, Jihoon’s sleepy eyes blinked blearily at the phone screen in his hand. He had forgotten to text a thank you message to Woojin, and he wasn’t sure whether 3am was too late to say something. Jihoon worried at his lip as he typed his message out and prayed that Woojin had some sense to have his phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode.

 

**Thanks again for today. I really really enjoyed it :)**

As he slid underneath his duvet, Jihoon heard his phone buzz on his bedside table. A wave of guilt washed over him as he read Woojin’s name on his lockscreen.

 

**yo night owl ;) ur welcome**

**I’m so sorry if I woke you up! I didn’t mean to! Please go back to sleep.**

**did you not listen to dan the other day? im always awake. im like batman.**

Jihoon smiled at the comic book reference before tapping a message back.

 

**I did listen to him; I just didn’t think it was true. Why are you awake?**

**ive got to do my homework at some point, dude. not all of us have your amazing time management skills. id kill for the tiniest bit of that**

**I might be willing to be persuaded to share my wisdom. For a price.**

**o yea? before we get carried away, i should probably tell u i have approximately -$12 in my bank account rn …**

Jihoon didn’t know where the sudden wave of bravery came from as he typed his next message, but Texting Jihoon and Talking Jihoon seemed to have completely different levels of confidence, and he wasn’t going to let himself be talked out of it by his anxious Talking Woojin thoughts.

 

**This Saturday. Ice-skating. Followed by Rob’s Ice-cream Parlour. And then I will _think_ about sharing my skillset.**

Jihoon took a deep breath as he watched the message go from ‘Delivered’ to ‘Seen’. He didn’t know how Woojin would react to a message like that. His heart hammered in anticipation as he watched the three dots bounce at the bottom left corner of his screen.

 

**ice-cream? in december? r u good?**

Jihoon breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Woojin’s message, despite the distinct lack of correct grammar and spelling. Jihoon couldn’t stand abbreviated texting, but Woojin’s texting habits were so consistent that they made him the only exception.

 

**Don’t question me. Ice-cream can be enjoyed in all weather conditions if you’re strong enough.**

**I hate that ive been persuaded to join your dark side. im changing ur contact name to Darth Jihoon**

**So… Is that a yes?**

**yes. but im blaming you if i freeze to death**

**I think I can live with that. I haven’t got a soul – that’s the reason why I can eat ice-cream in sub-zero temperatures.**

**i knew it. batman and a soulless ice-cream eating darth. try and name a better duo, ill wait**

**Go to sleep, Batman. I’ll see you in English tomorrow.**

Jihoon fell into a state of content as he tucked himself under his covers. He dreamed of a boy with a snaggletooth and a mysterious stranger.

 

***

 

The repercussions of Jihoon’s forwardness the previous night were ruining his emotions the following morning. The very idea of seeing Woojin at school made Jihoon want to run to the toilet and throw up everything he had eaten in the past month. He couldn’t believe he had been so bold and stupid, and put Woojin in a position where he felt like he _had_ to say yes _._ Jihoon didn’t want Woojin to feel like he had to hang out with him. He didn’t want Woojin’s pity. And he certainly didn’t want to talk about it in person. Texting Jihoon and Talking Jihoon were two completely different people as far as he was concerned, and he wanted to keep their lives separate.

 

After being unsuccessful in persuading his mother to let him have a sick day off from school, Jihoon slowly made his way to the dreaded building. He managed to avoid Woojin through first and second break, and deliberately sat on the other side of their group’s table at lunch to keep his distance, but Jihoon’s lack of Oscar-worthy acting skills needed to fake his own death meant that their meeting in their English class was inevitable.

 

“Jihoon!” He heard Woojin as he walked over to their table before he saw him. Woojin pulled the chair next to Jihoon out and bumped his shoulder as he sat down. “I feel like I haven’t seen you all day man! Are you still game for Saturday?”

 

Jihoon flushed as he looked around at their classmates to see if any of them might be listening in. He nodded at Woojin but dropped his eyebrows into a frown as he made eye contact with his friend. Woojin looked at him with concern.

 

“Are you sure, dude? Your face says otherwise.”

 

Jihoon’s voice lowered to a whisper as he noticed one of the girls behind Woojin looking over to their table. “Do you really want to go?”

 

Woojin joined Jihoon in whispering, even though he couldn’t have seen the girl behind him. “Duh. Why would I have said yes if I didn’t want to go?”

 

“I thought that maybe…” he worried at his lip, “maybe you felt like you _had_ to say yes.”

 

Woojin smirked at that and bumped his shoulder with Jihoon’s again. “You really think you have that kind of power over me, huh? You’re not _quite_ Darth Jihoon just yet.” He winked and turned to their lecturer as she started to explain an analysis of Shakespeare’s _Hamlet._

 

Jihoon, on the other hand, couldn’t shake the smirk and wink from his mind. He didn’t concentrate on anything, but tried his hardest to look like he was listening as his mind was reeling with everything that had happened with Woojin in the last 24 hours. He had gone from being friends-that-didn’t-really-speak to friends-that-hang-out-outside-of-school-one-on-one in such a short space of time and Jihoon couldn’t quite fathom it. Their friendship didn’t feel awkward or rushed like Jihoon had expected, in fact, it felt comfortable, safe, fun, and Jihoon wouldn’t trade it for the world. As well as his appreciation for their friendship, Jihoon could sense that his feelings for Woojin were growing as a result of their blossoming connection, and he didn’t want to ruin what they had, but he couldn’t quite rid himself of the crush. He didn’t _want_ to rid himself of the crush. If anything he wanted Woojin to reciprocate his feelings, but he knew that was a pipedream.

 

As Jihoon daydreamed, Woojin must’ve noticed a dazed look in his eye, as he nudged Jihoon halfway through the class and slid his notes over the desk towards him.

 

“You might want these.” He whispered near Jihoon’s ear before raising his hand to answer a question.

 

Whilst Woojin spoke about the importance of the theme of betrayal in _Hamlet,_ Jihoon flicked his eyes towards the notes in front of him. He tried his hardest to suppress a choke as his eyes took in the sight of the handwriting that had become increasingly familiar and comforting to Jihoon over the past week. He couldn’t believe it. The resemblance was uncanny. Jihoon’s hand flew to his satchel hanging on the back of his chair so he could compare the writing in the journal, but his hand froze around the clasp as he remembered what he had discovered just a few days before. The journal would be blank. He had no way of matching the texts.

 

As Woojin finished talking, he turned towards Jihoon and smiled a goofy smile at him, the one that let his snaggletooth make an appearance. Seeing his friend’s smile made Jihoon realise just how ridiculous he was being at that moment. This was Woojin he was trying to profile as the owner of the magical journal. _Woojin._ He shook his head and barely contained the laugh that was at his lips. He was losing his mind with all of those late nights.

 

“Did I make you proud?” Woojin’s question dragged Jihoon away from his disorientated thoughts, but his face must’ve made it clear that he wasn’t listening because Woojin repeated himself. “My question? I participated in class… I thought you’d be proud…” He mumbled the last bit to himself, his ears burning as he got quieter.

 

Jihoon nudged him and smiled at his friend as he pushed the notes back to him. “It was a great question.”

 

“You weren’t listening. You can’t fool me.” He winked and leaned forward. “What _were_ you thinking about? You looked freaked out.”

 

Jihoon flushed at that. “N-nothing. Just… thinking about that history project deadline.”

 

“Man, that project is taking over your life. I’ll throw some fists at Professor Soh if you want?”

 

Jihoon chuckled at that and swatted Woojin with his hand. “Don’t be an idiot. I’m always worrying like this.”

 

“Well, you should stop. Or you’ll get grey hair.” Woojin narrowed his eyes as they flicked to Jihoon’s hair. “Now that I’ve mentioned it…”

 

Jihoon gasped and hit Woojin again. “How dare y-“

 

A stern voice cut Jihoon off. “Mr Park and Mr Park.” Jihoon looked up to see his lecturer staring back at their table. “Is there something you’d like to share with the class?”

 

Jihoon’s face flushed a bright red and his throat closed up at the sudden attention on him. He couldn’t force himself to speak. His eyes flicked to make eye contact with Woojin, and he hoped that his expression spoke for the panic that he felt. Woojin turned to their lecturer and shook his head slowly.

 

“No, I’m sorry if we were a distraction to the class.” He bowed his head slowly and picked up his pen, preparing himself to immerse himself in the lesson once more. Jihoon, however, couldn’t find the courage to move for the rest of the class, and sat in resolute silence with his hands clenched together in his lap, staring at the speckled carpet beneath his feet. He had closed within himself so much that he didn’t hear the bell, and only knew that it was time to leave when Woojin carefully untangled Jihoon’s clenched hands and dragged him out of the classroom after the other students had left. Woojin didn’t stop pulling Jihoon by the hand until they were in an empty corridor.

 

He hesitated for a second before breaking the silence. “Are you alright?”

 

Jihoon bit his lip and gave a small nod, not wanting to look Woojin in the eye. He was embarrassed that something as simple as being called out by a teacher affected him as much as it did.

 

“You don’t have to lie to me, Ji.”

 

The nickname and the tenderness in Woojin’s voice made Jihoon flick his eyes up for a second. He caught Woojin’s softened gaze and he couldn’t help the tears that welled up in his eyes.

 

“I-I’m just…” Jihoon pressed his palms to his eyes and sighed. “It’s frustrating. My throat closing up on me. Not being able to speak. Being an anxious mess all the time. You having to speak for us because I couldn’t do _anything…_ ” He coughed away the emotions building up in his throat. “It’s just… a lot.”

 

Woojin leaned his shoulder against the locker next to him and, to Jihoon’s surprise, took Jihoon’s hand into his own.

 

“I get it, dude. I know it might be hard for you to imagine, but I was such a quiet kid. I never spoke to anyone, and I only really opened up and acted like myself when I found you guys here.” He squeezed Jihoon’s hand before letting it go. “If you want to talk, I’m here. I know it can feel pretty lonely.”

 

Jihoon had received those same kind words before, and it comforted him to know that he had individuals in his life that he could rely on. It was all very new to him but he knew that he would never take it for granted.

 

Before he changed his mind, Jihoon crushed Woojin in a tight hug and whispered a quiet “thank you” in his ear before letting go, not caring if anyone saw them as they passed by.

 

As they stepped back, Woojin’s face was lit up by a bright smile. “No problem, dude! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to wing my way through a chemistry experiment.”

 

Jihoon laughed despite his emotional state as he watched his friend walk down the corridor. He then turned the other way and walked towards his next class, hoping nobody would comment on the puffiness of his eyes.

 

***

 

_I’ve finished my project…_

Jihoon dropped the pen in the centre fold of the journal and sighed as he slowly scrolled through the finished word document on his laptop. He had wanted to get the majority of the project written before his day out with Woojin, but he hadn’t planned to be finished with his project a week before the deadline. He had plans to revise some of the paragraphs throughout the week, but he knew that he wouldn’t need to consult the magic journal for anything, and the thought broke his heart. He had grown so used to talking to the person on the other side, that the idea of not having an excuse to talk to them made him feel empty. He was even more worried that the journal would stop working once his project had been handed in, and then he wouldn’t even be able to talk about random things with the presence, although he couldn’t fathom _how_ the journal would know _when_ the project was due.

 

_That’s… great!... How… are… you… going… to… celebrate?_

_I’m going out with a friend tomorrow. Skating and ice-cream._

_That… sounds… like… a… date… to… me… Who’s… the… lucky… girl?_

Jihoon gasped at the words as they materialised and tried to control the blush on his face. He wrote quickly as he tried to stop his brain from connecting Woojin to the concept of a date.

 

_Definitely not a date. Just a good friend._

_Good… news… for… me… I… thought… you’d… found… another… magical… journal… to… talk… to._

Jihoon’s blush was persistent on his face as his brain quickly flicked from Woojin to the stranger behind the journal’s magic. Did they want to meet Jihoon in person? Would a conversation without the pages ruin the thrill of their friendship? Would they be disappointed by Jihoon? Was it _safe_ to meet up with them? He couldn’t decide what was the worst scenario.

 

_I have a question. It might be stupid._

_No… question… is… stupid._

_Will you disappear?_

_I… suppose… I… must…. You… have… completed… your… task…, and… I…  have… completed… mine… As… soon… as… you… close… this… journal… I… will… depart._

_Where will you go?_

 

_To… the… next… person… that… seeks… my… wisdom._

_What will happen to the journal?_

_It… will… become… an… ordinary… object… My… magic… travels… with… me._

Jihoon couldn’t help the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. As silly as it sounded, the presence in his journal had become his first close friend, and he was going to lose it forever. It felt like a piece of him was disappearing, and he wasn’t sure what he would do without it. He knew it didn’t make sense and he was probably being dramatic, but he needed to let the person in charge of the journal know how he felt.

 

_I’ll miss you. More than you will probably know._

_I’ll… miss… you… too… We… have… become… good… friends… if… I… do… say… so… myself._

_Yes, we have. And I will treasure it forever. Thank you for everything._

_You… are… welcome._

Not wanting to make the situation any more emotional for himself, Jihoon closed the notebook for the last time. He tucked it in the back of his desk drawer, then closed the laptop that was sitting next to him, not wanting to look at anything to do with Wiccan culture anymore. He flopped onto his bed and covered his eyes with his arm as he thought about how his life had changed in the course of less than 2 weeks. He couldn’t believe that he had changed and learned so much in such a short amount of time, and he was grateful for it, despite the loss. He wouldn’t have changed it for the world.

 

He was pulled away from his reminiscing by the familiar buzz of his phone.

 

**Park Woojin: is 3pm good for u 2moro?**

Park Woojin. Another aspect of his life that had changed drastically in less than 2 weeks. And something that he was determined to hold on to.

 

**3pm sounds perfect to me.**

*******

 

It was 3pm, and Jihoon was wrapped up tightly in his woollen jacket to protect himself from the snow that had started to fall around him as he ran to the ice-skating rink. He hated being late, and he hated that he was making Woojin wait in the snow by himself, but he couldn’t help that his brother had decided to throw up on himself and everything within reach 5 minutes before Jihoon was planning on leaving. He just hoped that he didn’t smell like baby vomit.

 

“Woojin!” he breathed as he ran towards his friend. “Hey. Sorry I’m late… My baby brother threw up…” he grimaced as he pictured it in his mind. “Everywhere…”

 

Positive as always, Woojin just grinned at him and gave him a quick sniff. “You’ll do.”

 

Jihoon pushed him away and grinned back, despite trying to feign disgust. “Get away from me, you’re gross.”

 

Woojin opened his mouth in a dramatic display and put his hands on his hips. “ _I’m_ gross? You literally had vomit on you 15 minutes ago.”

 

“Not by choice!” Jihoon rolled his eyes at Woojin’s exasperated sighs and walked towards the skate rental shed. As he traded in his snow-covered shoes for a pair of shiny, black skates, he eyed Woojin wearily. “Do you know how to ice-skate?”

 

Woojin, grasping his own skates tightly, smiled a sheepish smile. “It’s been a couple of years…”

 

It was Jihoon’s turn to put his hands on his hips, balancing the skates as he did so. “How long?”

 

“Maybe… 10 years...”

 

“Park Woojin!” Jihoon gasped, before trying to take the skates away from Woojin’s gloved hands. “I will _not_ be responsible for your death.”

 

Woojin held the skates out of Jihoon’s reach. Their slight height difference was the one thing that Woojin held against him, and it rubbed Jihoon the wrong way. “You took responsibility for my death over text the other day when you demanded that this was going to be our date-”

 

Woojin froze, his frostbitten ears turning a deeper shade of red. Jihoon’s ears matched the colour and he could feel his throat seize up, but in the best way possible.

 

“I… uh… forget I said that. Please.” He shook his head and chuckled awkwardly. “I’ve made this so awkward…”

 

“N-no!” Jihoon coughed a squeak out of his throat. “No… this can be a date…” His eyes widened and he shook his head. “No, wait… only if you want. Oh my god…” His gloves covered his face, the laces of his skates dangling down, letting the skates slap against his covered chest.

 

“Okay then.” was all Woojin said as he took Jihoon’s hands away from his face and guided the skates in his hands down to his feet. “Let’s get this skating date started then. Lace up!”

 

“That’s a lot of confidence for someone who can’t skate.” Jihoon said as he slipped the skates onto his feet and tied the laces into a secure knot.

 

“That’s a lot of talk for someone that finds talking difficult.” Woojin remarked back as he grabbed onto Jihoon’s arm to steady himself on the walk over to the ice-rink.

 

“Touché.” Jihoon giggled as he guided Woojin onto the ice, his friend’s vice-like grip never leaving his arm. “It would be easier if you didn’t grip onto my arm like that, y’know.”

 

Woojin frowned at Jihoon peeling Woojin’s grip from his arm, until he felt Jihoon’s warm hand clasped around his own.

 

“That was smooth, Park.”

 

“Shut up. I’m only trying to make sure that a fool like you won’t pull me to the ground.”

 

“Sounds fake, but okay.”

 

As they skated around the ice-rink, or more accurately, Jihoon pulled Woojin around the ice-rink, the two boys fell into what felt like their own world. Jihoon held Woojin’s hand tightly and laughed loudly whenever he wobbled, without worrying about the other people around him. He felt at ease, and it felt magical. His heart was light and carefree and he didn’t want it to end, no matter how much his legs ached from the exertion and the cold. He didn’t want to go back to a world where he was anxious and upset over the loss of a magical journal. He wanted to live a simple, happy life where he could enjoy hanging out with his friends without feeling anxious about it a week beforehand. But he couldn’t help the dull ache he felt in the very pit of his heart, and although he tried his hardest to hide this part of him, it crept up on him whilst Woojin ordered their ice-creams at Rob’s ice-cream parlour.

 

“Hey,” Woojin said as he slid into the opposite side of their booth. He slid Jihoon’s strawberry and banana sundae towards him and cocked his head to the side. “Are you alright?”

 

Jihoon looked up, blinking away the tears in his eyes and smiled a small smile. “Yeah… yeah. Just thinking about this sundae.” He grabbed his spoon and started playing with the sundae’s toppings.

 

“No you weren’t.” Woojin put his hand over Jihoon’s to get his attention again. “Talk to me, Ji.”

 

Jihoon sighed as he looked up, slipping his hand out of Woojin’s grasp. “You’re going to think I’m mad…” he mumbled.

 

“This is a no-judgement zone. I promise.”

 

After taking a deep breath, Jihoon started speaking. “You know that old guy from the library?” he flicked his eyes up to see Woojin nodding along before continuing. “Well… he didn’t exist. I was getting help on that history project, I wasn’t lying, but I just… I didn’t know how to explain it… God, even _I_ didn’t understand it… How could I ask someone else to get it? I didn’t know what to say…”

 

“Jihoon,” Woojin cut in, a reassuring smile on his face. “it’s okay. Take your time.”

 

Jihoon took another deep breath. “It was a journal. A magical journal. It… wrote back to me.” Jihoon couldn’t bring himself to look at Woojin’s reaction. He didn’t want to see the moment Woojin decided to distance himself from the friend that spoke about magic as if it still existed. But he continued on. “And I know this sounds mad, trust me, I _know_ , but we had a connection. We wrote to each other so often, and the person on the other end of that journal felt like my first close friend. And then you came along and I was so happy to have found another person who I could be myself around but… the magic stopped as soon as I finished that project… We had some kind of time limit that I didn’t even know about, and now I’m mourning the loss of a friendship with a _journal_ for god’s sake, and I just don’t want the same thing to happen with you, even though I won’t blame you for stepping away from me after this. I can hear what I’m saying and I know it sounds scary. Does this even make sense? I don’t know…” Jihoon slumped forward, resting his head in his hands. He hadn’t looked at Woojin the entire time and he didn’t want to now it was over. A few minutes passed before Woojin finally responded.

 

“I knew.”

 

Jihoon looked up at Woojin, confusion etched over his face. Woojin looked as if he was about to pass out. “You knew what?”

 

“I knew about the journal.”

 

Five words was all it took for Jihoon’s brain to create a thousand questions. What did Woojin mean? How did he know about the journal? Had he also used the journal? Did he believe in magic? Why didn’t he say anything to Jihoon about it if he knew? Why did he keep it a secret?

 

“I know it probably doesn’t make sense but...” Woojin flicked his eyes up and around the ice-cream parlour before nodding to himself as if he’d made a decision. “Follow me. Please. If you want…”

 

Jihoon didn’t know what was going on but he knew that he wasn’t about to sit in an ice-cream parlour by himself, so he followed Woojin outside and down the alley alongside the parlour. The fresh December air was a small relief from the sweltering heaters near their booth for a moment, before the cold set into Jihoon’s bones once again. He shivered as he walked slowly behind Woojin.

 

Woojin turned towards Jihoon, the look on his face was difficult to decipher.

 

“This is so hard to explain… I don’t know how you’ll react...” He smiled to himself at that. “It’s funny how we’ve ended up in the same position, huh?”

 

Jihoon didn’t know how to respond, so he just nodded slowly and tried to stop his teeth from chattering together.

 

“I…” Woojin stopped, sighing to himself. “It will be easier if I just show you.” He put his hand out towards Jihoon. “Hold my hand?” Jihoon hesitated for a second, but felt the familiar grasp in his own as he took the offer.

 

“You’re cold, right?” Jihoon nodded quickly, not knowing how that related but was willing to do anything to get back inside. “How about now?” Jihoon was about to complain that his frosted bones felt the exact same when he felt a warming sensation blanket his entire body. It felt like he was sat next to a heater, but he could still feel the snow falling on top of his head. As he went to open his mouth to ask what was happening, Woojin let go of his hand and the frozen air attacked Jihoon once more.

 

“It’s me. I can… use magic.” Woojin bit his lip as he grabbed Jihoon’s hand again. The heat radiated through Jihoon’s body once more. “I’m a witch. Well, technically a wizard but, I’m Wiccan.”

 

Jihoon stared at Woojin for as long as he could before backing away slightly, but not leaving the reach of Woojin’s hand. “This… isn’t possible. Magic hasn’t been around for _years_. The journal told me that-” Jihoon caught himself as he came to the realisation. Woojin’s response to his speech made sense. It all made sense. Woojin _was_ the one behind the journal. Woojin told him everything he needed to know for his project. Woojin had become Jihoon’s first close friend. He didn’t know what to say to all of this, and his silence seemed to worry Woojin.

 

“You’re mad at me. I would be too, believe me, but I just didn’t know how to tell you. I… didn’t want to ruin the magic for you.”

 

Although the situation probably warranted a different starting question, Jihoon couldn’t ignore the emotions that were bubbling inside of him. “Did the journal really stop working?”

 

“I, uh... “ Woojin scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. “No. But I had a good reason for making journal me disappear, albeit a very selfish one.”

 

Jihoon raised his eyebrows in anticipation as a response.

 

“I thought that maybe… you liked the guy in the journal more than me, and I was starting to get jealous of myself, even though I loved our journal conversations. I had to end it to give real me a chance…” He winced as he finished. “That sounded so stupud but, I really didn’t mean to make you upset, Ji. I didn’t realise how much the journal meant to you.”

 

“No, no, you couldn’t have known, Woojin. I was just a dramatic mess…”

 

Woojin took Jihoon’s other hand in his and looked into his eyes. “Do you forgive journal me?”

 

Jihoon used their hands to push Woojin back a few steps as he laughed. “Of course I do, fool. I forgive _all_ versions of you. Can we _please_ go back inside now?”

 

As they slowly made their way back towards the front of the ice-cream parlour, Woojin stopped and turned to look at Jihoon again. “You know, for someone who just found out that their friend is magic, you’re taking this very well.”

 

Jihoon shrugged. “I guess it’s just been a weird couple of weeks. I’m getting used to it.”

 

***

 

It had been a couple of months since the aptly named ‘Night of Revelations’ and not a lot had changed in Jihoon’s life. He had received the highest grade for his research project, and was constantly being asked about the location of his sources by Professor Soh - it was safe to say that he did love the political tangent. He still hung out with his group of friends every lunchtime, although he made sure to leave a seat free for one person in particular. Nobody suspected that anything was different in Jihoon and Woojin’s friendship, although that was the one thing that _had_ changed. They had grown even closer, which was to be expected after such revelations had been made, and they kept each other company after school every single day. Woojin turned out to be an amazing babysitter and kids’ entertainer, and had grown close to Jihoon’s brother whilst Jihoon knuckled down and did homework in the background. The change of routine was welcomed in Jihoon’s boring life.

 

Other parts of their relationship also changed and developed as the months went by. Jihoon’s hand would find Woojin’s at any given moment, and the warm energy that radiated from Woojin’s palm had become a familiar sensation to Jihoon. They had also been known to cuddle on occasion, though it usually ended up with Jihoon complaining that Woojin’s magic bones were too hot and pushing himself away before he melted into the sofa. But none of that could have prepared him for the rush of electricity that went through Jihoon the first time Woojin kissed him. They had been sitting on Jihoon’s bed, doing nothing in particular when Woojin suddenly reached across and laid his palm on Jihoon’s cheek. As they both leaned in, the small spark between their lips had made Jihoon giggle, but Woojin’s hungry eyes took the giggle and the breath out of him. Jihoon got used to that spark soon enough.

 

And some nights, when Jihoon reminisced on the last few months, he would pull out the cracked leather journal from his desk drawer and pick up his pen. He smiled as he took in the familiar scent of the blank pages before him. He wrote a simple message and waited patiently for a response from the boy with the snaggletooth on the other side of town.

 

_Goodnight Batman. I love you._

 

_Goodnight… sleepy… I… love… you… too._


End file.
